57 And 59, Bewell Head

666/0/10056 BEWELL HEAD 12-MAR-04 57 AND 59

GV II Pair of cottages and nail workers' workshop. Late C18/ early C19. Red brick with a plain tiled roof. Each two-up, two-down. The entrance front has 2 plank doors at either side of centre with 3-light casement windows at either side with central iron casements. All these ground floor openings have cambered heads. At first floor level are two 2-light casements and there is a cogged band at eaves level. Projecting brick stacks to each gable end with offset. To the rear of this at first floor level of each cottage is a 2-light casement window, that at right having its casement-hook. To the rear are 2 single-light casements at ground floor level. Inside the ground floor front room of No.57 has wainscot panelling. Both houses have clay tiles to the floor in this room, chamfered ceiling beams and C20 fire surrounds. Winder staircases lead up from rear kitchen/larders. Attached to the south west gable end of No.59 is a single-storey brick workshop with pitched roof. Internally it has pamment tiles to the floor and cement to the centre where the forge stood. The nail making industry thrived in Bromsgrove for several hundred years. It was a cottage industry and often involved entire families. The courts of nailers' cottages in Bromsgrove town centre have been demolished. This pair of late C18/early C19 are a rare survival, complete with their workshop.